I’d love to say that I have tons of resolutions for the new year, but that is not the case. I have no resolutions. NONE.

Not to say that I’m perfect. I mean, obviously not. But I’ve found that being imperfect is waaaay easier, so why mess up a good thing?

Also, the whole “fitness” thing that starts every January has kind of turned me off from resolutions. I mean…I’m happy for everyone who gets super excited and motivated and joins a gym/buys a treadmill/starts a relationship with Jillian Michaels because if that’s what you want then good, I hope you get super skinny or muscley or good at walking and lifting things or whatever.

But the bad part is when fitnessey people decide that EVERYONE else needs to be all fitnessey too. And then when you decline the gym invite, they assume that even though you’re saying no, you secretly wish that you had the motivation to say yes, and they proceed to tell you how good you’ll feel, how you just have to push yourself, blah blah blah.

So please trust me when I say, I do not want to go to the gym. I do not WISH I wanted to go to the gym. And when I browse Pinterest, and there’s a pin of someone lifting weights among all the triple layer brownie cookie caramel pins, my heart frowns and a tiny Crisco tear drops down and lands on my pile of Twinkies.

I’m fairly certain that the part of my brain that is supposed to want to be healthy never developed, and was instead replaced with a brain thing that makes me want to read magazines and eat Hot Tamales. So basically it’s a disability and not my fault.

And it’s mean to pick on people with disabilities, so you should probably just let me avoid exercise without judgement.

Anyways, since it’s the end of the year, I thought I’d do a round up of my most popular posts of 2011. But if we’re being honest, I am feeling lazy this week, haven’t baked anything, and this is just easier than cooking.

These Cap’n Crunch Cupcakesare great and the frosting is AMAZING. Also…another one of my favorite posts. I still get emails asking about Crazy Cereal Lady!!

These Tin Roof Bars are as good as they look!! Also, I discuss JOTS in this post. Do you know any JOTS? I bet you do.

These Melted Ice Cream Cupcakesare (again) very simple and super cute for a birthday party!! I think Ice Cream themed parties are the cutest.

These Boston Cream Pie Twinkiesare one of my best ideas ever. Even better than when I invented the wearable body alarm (protect thy personal bubble!).

I cannot stress to you the importance of making these Zebra Cakes. Just do it and trust me, okay?

Can you believe all the stuff I did this year? It’s amazing that I even had time to breathe, put on socks, or buy Chapstick!! I’m practically a food making machine!!

I hope your year was fabulous. I look forward to sharing many more recipes with you in 2012!!

Thank you so much for reading and have a wonderful New Year!!

About Kristan

Hey cutie! Thanks for reading :) Let me introduce myself -- I'm Kristan (pronounced Kris-TANNE) a work-at-home mom living, baking, and online shopping in Fort Smith Arkansas. I have a 12 year-old son Jon David, a 4 year-old daughter Lucy, and a husband, Jess. I completely adore all of them 96% of the time (the rest of the time you can find me drinking my feelings with a box of Pinot). I hope you stay awhile -- I'd love to get to know you!

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I think my resolution for 2012 is to just come up with a non-cliched resolution. That’s the best I do. :) I seriously LOVE how your mind works. I hate my diabetes every time I see your awesome recipes but I still love to bake so my family (especially the hubby) loves to be my taste testers. I made your Dr. Pepper Cherry Vanilla cupcakes in a jar for my daughter’s cheer sleepover and they were a huge hit! They want to have another sleepover just to see what I will make them next. :) Happy New Year to you!!! Thanks for sharing your creativity with us!

Oh I can tell, I’m going to like you already. I love your sense of humor so I’m definitely following you. ;) Good for you for liking who you are and not feeling like you have to hold to someone else’s ideal. I’m one of those fitnessey people but I’m like that year round and I can promise, I have no intention of telling you to go work out. I do it because it’s fun for me. I don’t expect anyone who isn’t going to have fun to do it. That would be silly. I don’t ever want to skydive. I have absolutely NO interest in leaping out of an airplane with nothing but a glorified napkin folded up and strapped to my back while I plummet toward the earth screeching like a howler monkey. Thus I completely understand that some people just don’t want to do things they won’t enjoy. I promise not to ask you to work out as long as you promise not to shove me out of a plane. Deal? Great.

On to your food stuffs. All of this looks amazing. I have to admit I love cooking but the hubby is really big into health foods so I’ll have to make some of this for my friends who are in utter agreement with you on the dessert thing. ;) I can already practically hear my friend Wendy drooling over the cookies and cream cupcakes. Filling? In a cupcake? Oh heck yeah. Gimmie. *makes grabby paws for them* Thanks for sharing all this and I shall now follow you happily so I can pick up even MORE awesome recipes. :)

your cupcakes are trully beautiful, everything looks so gorgeous and delicious I just can’t wait to try the mint truffles, I love your blog your decorations are always great and you have such good ideas, thanks for sharing!

Your cookies and cream cupcakes have been made at least a dozen times since you posted the recipe. Sometimes 6 dozen at a time. People are totally wowed by them. So, thank you! :) I do tell them and often send a link to your blog too.

People think I’m an awesome baker because of you. I give you 100% of the credit for the clever ideas and the receipes but I still come out looking like an amazing baker and it’s all because of you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You are my hero!!

I LOVE you already, and just when I think I couldn’t love you anymore, you say something like Crisco tears…and I wake Bernie up laughing! I’m so glad I found you…and I love that you posted this. Some was before my time, so I am seeing thin mint truffles and messing up one of my blasted resolutions already. Some of us aren’t naturally blessed with stellar genes that offset the exercise aversion =P

You made me laugh again. Reading your posts is just a great way to start a day of work. I’m totally with you when it comes to New Year celebrations. My hubby does lots of laundry on the last day of a year because he believes that if you leave laundry basket empty then you will have much less washing the next year ( yeah right! with two kids under three? ). Oooops, have to run to work! Somebody make me a cupcake! :-) Have a great day!!!

Thank you for a wonderful year of sharing your creative baking, your wonderful sense of humour and your very personal stories with us. You have endeared all of your readers to you with your talents, your positive outlook on life, your inner strength and beautiful spirit. Continued success with this site throughout 2012 and may the New Year bless you and your family with the same joy and happiness that you bring to so many others.

I resolved several years ago not to make resolutions anymore! It’s just too depressing when January 2nd rolls around and I’ve already admitted defeat on the go to the gym more often resolution! Besides I like chocolate way too much to resolve to eat too many leafy things!

I am so glad I found your blog, your posts always bring a smile whether it’s from your sharp sense of humor or from yummy goodness! This was so funny that I had to share it with my husband and he laughed too. Thank you for sharing with all of us and a Happy New Year to you!

gosh you make me smile. and laugh. the crisco tear remark was priceless, like you. and those sweets made me smile! especially the cupcake milkshake. really, the things you think of! and the photos are so cute. you are the best of 2011. and 2012 too i’m sure. happy new year!

“my heart frowns and a tiny Crisco tear drops down and lands on my pile of Twinkies.” I love you, Kristan. I just read that whole except aloud to my boys. It’s a Confessions of a Cookbook Queen READING!!! You should do those!

Your round-up is making me really, really hungry! Man, you made some amazing things this year! And I had totally forgotten about crazy cereal lady!

I follow your blog, new blog and FB and well … anything YOU! I find my dreams of being a better baker are filled by simply rubbing elbows. I did however, make the chocolate cherry coke cupcakes for my daughters 10th birthday. I was so proud of myself and my friends thought I was amazing so I didn’t even care if the birthday girl like them (which btw she loved them).

Cute and delicious just like you! My favorite thing about YOU is you are funny. I love funny!

OMG…husband picked the movie…Young Adult. The highlight of the movie was the Diet Coke and chocolate-covered raisinettes…and the guy in front of us was snoring!!!! LOUDLY!
Hope you have an awesome New Year!
Tonihttp://www.lifeinapinkbunnysuit.com

I love your blog you are so funny! I also loved the TB shoes – I have several pairs and every time I bring a new pair home and tell my hubby the price – he wigs out and tells me he is going to quit his job and become a shoe designer because that is how you can make lots of money!

I don’t do resolutions either. I never understood how all of a sudden it’s a new year, so that means everything is all different now. Um, no. It’s the same as it was yesterday, it’s just that now I have to remember to put a 2 at the end of the date instead of a 1.

I sound grouchy, but whatever. I think if you want to change something, you change it, and you don’t wait for the calendar to flip over to the beginning again for it to happen.

ANYWAY.

Those cupcake milkshakes have been calling my name for months, and for some stupid reason, I haven’t answered. I’m thinking there will be a cupcake milkshake in my hand by the end of the day.